Stories from Coaches & Coordinators

Animal Explorations

The Mane Team planned an expedition to the zoo. Dana, a team coach, called ahead to make certain that a zookeeper would guide the team through the zoo's lion section. To prepare, ScienceQuest coaches helped the team gather preliminary information and develop questions to ask the zookeeper. The team found basic information in encyclopedias and on web sites. Team members brainstormed questions based on what they had learned in their research. In addition, the team wanted to be sure that they would be able to record information gathered at the zoo. Team members decided to record their visit to the zoo with a video camera. This prompted an ad-hoc practice session with the camera.

Once at the zoo, the zookeeper answered the team's questions. In addition to video taping their favorite animals, team members recorded their observations by taking notes and drawing pictures.

Later, back at the center, each team illustrated one lion fact, with annotations that included captions and additional information. As team members expanded their knowledge about lions, they posed more questions. To continue gathering information, they returned to reading reference materials and watching video footage. The coaches integrated stories of lions into their activities by reading Aesop's Fables.

Air Jordan?

The Somerville ScienceQuest team developed the following question: "How does Michael Jordan jump so high?" In order to learn more, they focused their research on sports specialists. They went to the Boston Sports Museum and spoke with a local physical therapist. While gathering research, one team member discovered, "It turns out that Michael Jordan doesn't jump that much higher. It's just the cameras that make it look that way." The Somerville team had started their investigation with a sports science question. The team's research led them to study another area -- perception on television.